Heart-In-Mouth-Adventure!

Summary: Your steely faith, commitment, sturdy determination and passionate love for God is proved and revealed during times of severe crisis!

Heart-in-mouth-Adventure!

Job 23:10’But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.’

For the first time Mitsubishi had conducted a rally in Hyderabad city, in which, Pajero vehicle owners were made to drive through slushy terrains, steep roads and negotiate blind spots. The objective was to make Pajero owners experience the off-road terrain capabilities of the vehicle and bring all owners onto a platform to share their driving experiences and most important to flaunt and parade the competence, capability and potential of their product ‘Pajero!’

Your steely faith, commitment, sturdy determination and passionate love for God is proved and revealed during times of severe crisis! No fun in carrying big, fancy, leather-bound Bibles, we got to endure the heat, tolerate the injustice and press on forward despite the strong forces that try to pull you back. Are you listening? When you start a Bible study, a prayer cell, youth fellowship or a slum-outreach ministry, never ever imagine it is going to be cake-walk; you will have thousand forces trying to stop you from this project – the devil will never allow ‘good seeds’ to grow. Persevere! Are you hearing me? Persevere!

We as a whole family had fasted for one whole week taking just one meal and fasted for an ‘all-night-prayer’; my son was very small during that time and my daughter around 14 and my maid also joins us during such fasting period. After a whole week of preparations, fasting, back-breaking prayers, sermon preparation, informing people, worship practice and what not; the crowd that showed up were ‘SEVEN’ people! I repeat 7! I’m sure anyone would go bonkers! I was no super-woman and as I preached that day about prophet Jeremiah, I wept on the stage like the prophet. I came back home and the weeping continued, asking God for reasons. That was the last fasting prayer that we had at Chennai, after which God relocated our ministry to Hyderabad. Now, the place where we planted our church and school were ‘barren lands’ where we have to stand upside down to invite people to church. Such hard-hearted and blind people! Now, I was able to understand the reason why God had taken me through some rough terrains, sufferings and humiliation so that I get prepared for the ‘fiery trials’ in Hyderabad. Sometimes, God has to do some ‘painful things’ to shift our course of journey. Are you listening? After many, many years, today I am not that affected by the ‘attendance’; I just want HIM. Such chastening experiences help us grow and glow for God!

All of the years of waiting, learning, practicing, suffering reproach, working and longing for an answer is God’s way of makings us ‘sturdy vehicles’ in the rough terrains of life! Are you listening? Now, after years of painful experience, after years of clinging on to Him during times of pain, when you swing the steering wheel efficiently and when you glide the roads smoothly – all eyes are on you! Press on!

Friend, people may howl, shriek with excitement during worship, wear a big cross, and ‘I love Jesus T-shirt’ – but the true test of endurance is proved in standing for God during times of crisis.